Jane, I always thought you could not be so beautiful for nothing, but it is not your face or figure that is the most beautiful. It is the way you treat others. Lizzy is very clever and mostly kind, and you are very kind and mostly clever. You have the advantage. I have five daughters to settle in good marriages, and like it or not, you will have to bethe one to lead the charge. If you cannot find felicity in marriage, none of the other girls have the slightest chance.
For once, the sentiment had not made her want to scream. It was a depressing assessment, but Jane could not very well disagree. It was time to quit whining, and a ball was just the thing.
Council
Fitzwilliam Darcy sat in the library of his London townhouse, staring morosely into the fire and listening to the ghost of his father trying to teach him to be a gentleman.
A man must consider his family, his tenants, his descendants… but most importantly, at any given time he must give his every attention to whoever is standing before him.
How disappointed would his father be, were he to know how low he had sunk? Had he truly made a proposal that includedinsultinghis intended? Had he truly used the word ‘degradation’? Had there ever been a worse proposal… ever?
He was reaching for the brandy when his cousins entered.
“Anne. Richard. Welcome back.”
His distress was evident, so Anne refrained from exacerbating it, rightly assuming he was perfectly capable of doing so himself.
“Fitzwilliam, you need to speak with Jane Bennet.”
“Jane Bennet? I thought you went to enquire of her aunt.”
“I did, but only Jane was there.”
“Jane?”
“Yes, Jane! We formed a friendship, surprisingly enough. She will attend a ball with me on Tuesday next.”
“You are the only one surprised, Anne,” Darcy said, chuckling. “I am not in the least shocked you make friends once you venture out. I am delighted to see you finally escaping Rosings, and I believe you and Miss Bennet will get on well.”
“Thank you, Cousin.”
Unwilling to think much about Jane Bennet, Darcy asked, “Did you learn anything from her?”
Anne looked embarrassed. “You do realise I went in without an introduction? I believe I did well enough, but I could not betray your confidence—or Miss Elizabeth’s for that matter—so I could not tell her what occurred. You need to talk to her. She is close to her sister. She should know.”
“Yes, I believe I must—if I can but determine how.”
“Let us see. You own a horse, a barouche, a carriage, a landau, a…”
“I take your meaning.”
“All it requires is courage, but if you are not in a hurry, I would appreciate you waiting until after the ball.”
“Of course.”
Anne brightened. “I am not entirely without news. Jane and I became sufficiently intimate that she told me much more than I could reasonably have hoped.”
“Once again, no one is surprised but you.”
“Do not interrupt. She mentioned that Miss Elizabeth wrote an odd letter. It was deliberately vague but the gist of it is that she, somehow, met some new acquaintances on her return totown, instantly befriended a daughter, and has departed upon an extended trip with them. She will be back in a month or two.”
Darcy nodded. After a moment’s thought, he observed, “That sounds just like her. I imagine were you to drop her in the desert a hundred miles from the nearest river, she would find a band of nomads to take her to water within the hour. She is apparently hiding from me?”
“So it seems.”
Darcy nodded again, thinking. “I can see the sense in it. Her mother is quite the mercenary. If she intended to accept me, she would have done so. This must be her way of rejecting me without fighting her parents. She must be near her majority, so perhaps she is merely buying time.”
Richard added, “These mercenary mothers can be quite a trial, eh Darcy.”
